


break up in a small town

by Fives (janfives90)



Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-26 23:09:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21108704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janfives90/pseuds/Fives
Summary: “I was wondering if you were coming with us to the bar tonight.”Alyssa winces as she locks the door of her shop. “No, I don’t think so, Shelby. I’m really tired.” She overexaggerates a yawn for emphasis. “Just exhausted.”There’s a quiet sigh on the other end of the line. “Sure. Okay.” Shelby pauses. “You know that you’re going to have to see her eventually, right?”





	break up in a small town

_“I was wondering if you were coming with us to the bar tonight.”_

Alyssa winces as she locks the door of her shop. “No, I don’t think so, Shelby. I’m really tired.” She overexaggerates a yawn for emphasis. “Just exhausted.”

There’s a quiet sigh on the other end of the line. _“Sure. Okay.”_ Shelby pauses. _“You know that you’re going to have to see her eventually, right?”_

“Yeah. Yeah, obviously. Just. Not tonight. Because I’m tired.”

_“Right. Tired.”_ There’s disappointment thick in Shelby’s voice. _“Get some sleep, Lys.”_

Alyssa forces a grin to try to keep her own voice steady. “Definitely. Have fun tonight.”

_“Will do.”_

She puts her phone into her pocket and spins her keys in her hand as she turns to walk down the street.

“Alyssa?”

“Oh, God,” Alyssa whispers, stopping in her tracks. She looks up slowly, dread settling in her stomach.

Emma Nolan is standing on the sidewalk in front of her, hands in the pockets of her jeans, looking far too attractive in a soft red flannel, a black fleece vest, and a gray scarf. She takes a hand out of her pocket to adjust her glasses, cheeks flushed red from the cold wind surrounding them.

“Hi,” Emma says quietly.

“Hi,” Alyssa echoes.

They just stand there, in the middle of the sidewalk, staring at each other.

“I, uh… I didn’t think I’d see you until tonight,” Emma mumbles, fidgeting in place.

“I’m not going.”

“Oh.” Emma clears her throat, glancing at the door Alyssa is standing next to. “I see you finally opened up that bookshop you always wanted.”

“Yeah. I did. All by myself.”

Alyssa winces at her choice of words, and she sees Emma flinch at them as well.

“Well. I’m happy for you.” Emma rubs the back of her neck and shrugs. “I’m kind of… Look, we should probably talk?”

“I don’t really think there’s anything left to say,” Alyssa says, her throat tightening. “I have to go.” She steps around Emma and walks away, brushing tears off of her cheeks and ignoring Emma’s voice trying to call after her.

* * *

“I thought you were going out with your friends tonight, sweetheart,” Mrs. Greene says, passing a slice of white pizza to Alyssa. “Not that I don’t enjoy your company.”

Alyssa takes a bite of pizza before responding. “I just decided not to. I was thinking of skipping the reunion, so I figured that going to a pre-party didn’t have much use.”

“Why would you skip the reunion?”

“Just wasn’t feeling like it was important.”

Her mother is silent for a long moment. “I heard that Emma was back in town.”

Alyssa clears her throat. “Oh. Is she?”

“Don’t play that game with me, Alyssa Greene, I know you aren’t that oblivious.” Mrs. Greene leans forward on the table, her voice soft. “Are you okay? Seeing her again?”

“Yeah,” Alyssa laughs. “I’m fine. My decision has nothing to do with her.”

Mrs. Greene takes a sip of her water. “Mm. Of course.”

“It doesn’t!” She shrugs and waves her hand dismissively. “Besides. It’s not like she’s staying in town. Any awkwardness between us isn’t something I’ll need to think about for more than a few days.”

* * *

“Oh, _shit!”_ Alyssa curses as a sudden gust of wind hits her square in the chest, knocking a few papers out of her hands and down the sidewalk. She scrambles after them, trying to grab them before they can be blown into the street, and as she races after the last, it’s picked up by someone stepping out of Betsy Nolan’s music shop.

As she rises out of her crouch, her heart sinks.

“Emma.”

Emma runs one hand through her hair as the other returns Alyssa’s paper to her. “Hey. Is… that all of them?”

“Huh?”

“The papers.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah. Uhm.” Alyssa counts them quickly. “Yeah. It’s some flyers for a book sale we’re having. I was putting them up around town.”

“If you’d like, I could put one up in the shop window?” Emma asks, gesturing towards the music store.

Alyssa blinks at her and slowly passes her one of the flyers. “Thanks…”

“Of course.” Emma looks down at the paper, reading it silently.

“Why are you still here?” Alyssa blurts out.

Emma bites her lip and rubs the back of her neck. “Right. That’s what I tried to talk to you about when I saw you that day.”

“What?”

“I moved back to town. Gran’s getting a bit too old to run the shop by herself, so she’s training me to take over.”

“…What?”

Emma sighs quietly. “I don’t want this to be uncomfortable for you, Alyssa. It’s a small town. We’re going to have to see each other on occasion. Can we just… Can we try to tolerate each other? At the very least?”

Alyssa swallows. “It’s not about tolerating you,” she whispers. “It just hurts too much to even look at you.”

“Lys,” she says gently, reaching out and resting her hand on Alyssa’s upper arm.

Her skin burns hot under Emma’s touch, even with two layers of clothing between, and she pulls away instinctively. Emma’s hand falls back down to her side.

“Sorry,” Emma murmurs.

“Yeah, well…” Alyssa shrugs and looks away.

“Look. Can I put this in the store to hang tomorrow and then help you put up the others? We should really talk about this. We can’t spend the rest of our lives like this, Alyssa. It’s not healthy.”

Alyssa bites her lip, watching as Emma nervously adjusts her glasses. “Okay. Okay. You’re right. We’re adults.” She nods, steeling herself. “We should talk.”

* * *

They say almost nothing to each other as they walk through Edgewater, stapling posters to telephone poles.

As she places the last flyer, Alyssa closes her eyes, feeling Emma stop behind her.

“You’re shivering, Alyssa.”

“I’m fine.”

Emma lets out a soft scoff. “Come here.”

Alyssa turns around, and Emma puts her own scarf around Alyssa’s neck. “I don’t need it. I’m alright.”

“Lys. It’s just a scarf.”

“…Right.” Alyssa fidgets with the material, wrapping it once to keep her warmer. “I guess we haven’t really talked at all yet.”

“No. We haven’t.” Emma puts her hands in her pockets and shrugs. “Do you want to go sit by the lake?”

Alyssa laughs quietly. “Our spot? That’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?”

Emma doesn’t respond, just watches her and waits.

“Fine,” Alyssa sighs. “Let’s go sit by the lake.”

* * *

Alyssa sits on the bench, keeping space between her and Emma, staring out at the water. “Is that really the only reason you came back?”

Emma glances over at her, brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You said you came back to town to take over the shop for your grandmother. I just… I was wondering if that was the only reason you moved out of the city.”

There’s a long pause as Emma stares down at her hands. “Not entirely. She probably could’ve gone another few years by herself, but…” She shrugs. “I was tired.”

“Funny. Two years ago nothing would convince you to leave New York. Not even me.” Alyssa shakes her head slowly. “You were so focused on work. Letting it take up all your time. You wouldn’t even hear me out when I was trying to explain why I wanted to live somewhere smaller.”

Emma rubs her thumb against her palm, a small, anxious movement. “I was listening,” she says softly. “It was just hard to get it through my brain. I was overworking myself so hard, writing for that production company, that I was so tired all the time. I couldn’t explain what was going on, but I… I was hoping that things would just… figure themselves out.”

“How were they supposed to figure themselves out?”

“I don’t know,” Emma admits, her voice quiet. She rubs at her eyes and sighs. “I had a plan for at least proving that I was serious about you. It just… I didn’t prove myself to you before you had already gotten fed up with waiting for me. That’s not your fault, and I won’t blame you if you still can’t stand to look at me. I just thought you should know that I didn’t stop loving you. I didn’t try to fail you. I just screwed up.”

Alyssa swallows, falling silent for a long moment.

Her heart hurts more and more with each word, and she doesn’t know what to say.

Until one thing Emma said pulls to the front of her mind.

“Wait,” Alyssa says slowly. “Plan? What plan?”

Emma is quiet, staring at the lake. Just as Alyssa starts to wonder whether she’s going to respond, Emma reaches into the pocket of her vest.

Alyssa’s breath chokes in her throat as a small black box is set on the bench between them.

“You… You can’t have been carrying that for two years,” she whispers.

“No. To be honest, I almost threw it out when you left me.” Emma looks down at her hands, pulling at her sleeves. “When I was packing up to move, I found it again. I should’ve sold it, or just put it away somewhere, but I… I don’t know. I stuck it in my pocket and I keep picking it up and carrying it around with me.”

“You were…” Alyssa closes her eyes and hastily wipes her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me when I said I was going to leave?”

“I had already lost you,” Emma says. “Asking you to marry me wouldn’t have fixed anything. It would’ve just made things worse.”

“All I wanted was you,” Alyssa chokes out. “We could’ve figured something out. If I had known that you were trying, that you weren’t giving up, I… I would’ve… I don’t know, but…”

Emma puts the ring box back in her pocket, moving closer with a concerned frown on her face as Alyssa starts crying in earnest. She puts an arm around Alyssa’s shoulders, squeezing her tightly. “Lys, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I fucked everything up, I know that, but please don’t cry.” She lifts Alyssa’s chin, her voice softening. “Please don’t cry.”

Alyssa looks into her eyes, her breathing shaky. They’re close, too close, and she feels hot everywhere Emma is touching her. “Do you… Do you know why it hurt so much to see you?”

There’s confusion on Emma’s face as she gives a small shake of her head. “Why?”

“I’m still in love with you,” Alyssa whispers.

Emma’s eyes widen a bit. “Wh-”

Alyssa pulls Emma to her, fingers tense on Emma’s jaw, and kisses her.

It doesn’t last long, just a short and sweet press of lips, but it settles Alyssa more than she thought possible.

“I missed you,” she admits, her fingers trembling against Emma’s skin.

Emma kisses her on the temple. “I missed you, too.”

Alyssa pulls away a bit, lowering her hands and rubbing them together. “We can’t just continue where we left off. It’s been two years, and where we left off wasn’t good anyway. But we live in the same town. We have jobs on the same street. Maybe… Do you think maybe…”

“Maybe we could start something brand new?”

Alyssa gives a shy nod of her head and looks Emma in the eye. “It won’t be the same as completely dating somebody new. We know each other too well. But I love you, Emma. I want to try if you do.”

Emma smiles and rests her forehead against Alyssa’s. “I still love you, too. I’d give anything for a chance to try again if you’re willing.”

Alyssa grins and closes her eyes. “Yes.”

“Good,” Emma whispers. Her voice takes on a playful tone. “Though I should maybe get rid of the ring. It feels like bad luck.”

“I don’t know. It wanted to stay with you, and you had it with you for this conversation.” Alyssa tries to sneak her hand into Emma’s pocket to steal the box. “Maybe it’s actually _good_ luck.”

“You can’t see the engagement ring before the first date, Greene,” Emma scolds, grabbing her wrist to stop her. “That’s just wrong.”

“Rude,” Alyssa says with a grin. She leans her head down, nipping at a spot just under Emma’s jaw, pleased to find that it still makes a quiet, helpless noise come from Emma’s throat. “Bet I can make you show it to me.”

Emma clears her throat, blushing. “We’re gonna do _so great_ at this ‘starting from the beginning’ thing, aren’t we?”

Alyssa laughs and kisses her on the cheek. “Oh, _absolutely.”_


End file.
